Dry lab systems - HP & Noritsu

[noritsuvet]

We have been working through the ROI figures on two of the dry lab systems after visiting the Noritsu road show a month or so back. Since then a few in the industry have mentioned that some of the published values don't necessarily include full ink coverage - which could make things dramatically different. Has anyone heard about this - or gone through the exercise?

Also, forgetting the likes of Tesco, does anyone know any minilabs around London/South that have made the jump from a conventional lab to the HP system? From what I see at the mo. its' more of a supermarket type set-up - not for a photo shop? Comments appreciated.

[kioskguy]

It's not only the ink coverage to watch for. Be really careful about the total ownership costs as some suppliers (no names mentioned) have charged photo shops a huge amount for ongoing maintenance upgrades.

One of our ex staff members is working at a shop in Australia where they were surprised with a big bill - just to keep things running. Not the way a company wanting to get into this industry should be behaving.

[aussiecameras]

I have heard the word 'surprise' before!!  As far as I can gather the ongoing monthly maintenance costs for HP are high, one guy told me they were as high as his lease payments.  I don't know what the equivalent fees are for Noritsu but surely all these things should be transparent and information available at the outset rather than after the first year.